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Lydenburg: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 25°05′46″S 30°26′46″E / 25.096°S 30.446°E / -25.096; 30.446
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{{more citations needed|date=April 2007}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2007}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lydenburg
| name = Lydenburg
| image_skyline = Dutch Reformed Church Lydenburg.JPG
| other_name = Mashishing
| image_skyline = Dutch Reformed Church Lydenburg.JPG
| image_caption = Dutch Reformed Church, Lydenburg
| image_caption = Dutch Reformed Church, Lydenburg
| pushpin_map = South Africa Mpumalanga#South Africa#Africa
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|25.096|S|30.446|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = South Africa Mpumalanga#South Africa#Africa
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
⚫
| coordinates = {{coord|25.096|S|30.446|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name = [[South Africa]]
| subdivision_name = [[South Africa]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of South Africa|Province]]
⚫
| subdivision_name1 = [[Mpumalanga]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of South Africa|Province]]
⚫
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of South Africa|District]]
⚫
| subdivision_name1 = [[Mpumalanga]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Ehlanzeni District Municipality|Ehlanzeni]]
⚫
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of South Africa|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Ehlanzeni District Municipality|Ehlanzeni]]
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
⚫
| subdivision_name3 = [[Thaba Chweu Local Municipality|Thaba Chweu]]
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
⚫
| subdivision_type4 = Main Place
⚫
| subdivision_name3 = [[Thaba Chweu Local Municipality|Thaba Chweu]]
| established_title = Established
⚫
| subdivision_type4 = Main Place
| established_title = Established
| leader_title = Councillor
⚫
| area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/873012003 |title = Sub Place Lydenburg |work=Census 2011}}</ref>
| leader_title = Councillor
⚫
| area_total_km2 = 17.31
⚫
| area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/873012003 |title = Sub Place Lydenburg |work=Census 2011}}</ref>
⚫
| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
⚫
| area_total_km2 = 17.31
| population_total = 37258
⚫
| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| population_total = 37258
| population_as_of = 2011
⚫
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_as_of = 2011
⚫
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
⚫
| population_density_km2 = auto
⚫
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_info1 = 75.3%
| demographics1_info1 = 75.3%
| demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_info2 = 1.4%
| demographics1_info2 = 1.4%
| demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_info3 = 0.5%
| demographics1_info3 = 0.5%
| demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_info4 = 22.5%
| demographics1_info4 = 22.5%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 0.3%
| demographics1_info5 = 0.3%
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->| demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011)
| demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011)
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics2_title1 = [[Northern Sotho language|Northern Sotho]]
| demographics2_title1 = [[Northern Sotho language|Northern Sotho]]
| demographics2_info1 = 26.2%
| demographics2_info1 = 26.2%
| demographics2_title2 = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_title2 = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_info2 = 22.8%
| demographics2_info2 = 22.8%
| demographics2_title3 = [[Swazi language|Swazi]]
| demographics2_title3 = [[Swazi language|Swazi]]
| demographics2_info3 = 18.7%
| demographics2_info3 = 18.7%
| demographics2_title4 = [[Zulu language|Zulu]]
| demographics2_title4 = [[Zulu language|Zulu]]
| demographics2_info4 = 13.1%
| demographics2_info4 = 13.1%
| demographics2_title5 = Other
| demographics2_title5 = Other
| demographics2_info5 = 19.2%
| demographics2_info5 = 19.2%
<!-- blank fields (section 2) -->
<!-- blank fields (section 2) -->
<!-- Other information -->
<!-- Other information -->| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
⚫
| utc_offset1 = +2
| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
⚫
| postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
⚫
| utc_offset1 = +2
⚫
| postal_code = 1120
⚫
| postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
| postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
⚫
| postal_code = 1120
| postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
| postal2_code = 1120
⚫
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| postal2_code = 1120
| area_code = 013
⚫
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| area_code = 013
| other_name = Mashishing
}}
}}
{{SouthAfrica state}}
{{SouthAfrica state}}
'''Lydenburg''' is a city in [[Thaba Chweu Local Municipality]], on the [[Mpumalanga]] highveld, [[South Africa]]. Alternatively and originally known as '''Mashishing''', Lydenburg is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the [[Lepelle/Letaba River|Lepelle River]] at the summit of the [[Long Tom Pass]]. It has a long, rich history, ranging from AD 500 to the present. The name is derived from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''Lijdenburg'', or "Town of Suffering".<ref>{{Cite web|title=South Africa|url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/South_Africa.html|access-date=2021-09-04|website=worldstatesmen.org}}</ref> In Northern Sotho, Mashishing means "long green grass."<ref>{{cite web| url = https://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-09-old-south-africa-collides-with-new-in-city-names/| title = Old South Africa collides with new in city names - The Mail & Guardian}} </ref> Lydenburg has become the centre of the South African [[fly-fishing]] industry and is an agricultural, tourism and mining hub.
'''Lydenburg''', also known as '''Mashishing''',<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> is a town in [[Thaba Chweu Local Municipality]], on the [[Mpumalanga]] highveld, [[South Africa]]. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the [[Lepelle/Letaba River|Lepelle River]] at the summit of the [[Long Tom Pass]]. It has a long, rich history, ranging from AD 500 to the present. The name is derived from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''Lijdenburg'', or "Town of Suffering", and is named for the experiences of the white settlers.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Carroll |first1=Rory |title=Whites protest at African name changes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/28/southafrica.rorycarroll |access-date=10 February 2022 |work=the Guardian |date=27 July 2006 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=South Africa|url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/South_Africa.html|access-date=2021-09-04|website=worldstatesmen.org}}</ref> In Northern Sotho, Mashishing means "long green grass."<ref>{{cite web| url = https://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-09-old-south-africa-collides-with-new-in-city-names/| title = Old South Africa collides with new in city names - The Mail & Guardian| date = 9 August 2011}}</ref> Lydenburg has become the centre of the South African [[fly-fishing]] industry and is an agricultural, tourism and mining hub.


==History==
==History==


===Lydenburg Heads===
===Ancient history===
The area surrounding present day Lydenburg has a long history of human occupation. Rock paintings in surrounding areas point to early [[Khoe-San]] hunter-gather groups living on the land.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History – MAWR |url=https://www.mountanderson.com/history/ |access-date=2021-09-04 |language=en-US}}</ref>
⚫
Dating back to AD 500, the earliest known forms of African Iron Age sculpture below the equator, known as the [[Lydenburg heads]] were found in the area. The seven earthenware sculptures of heads and other pottery from the site are intricately decorated and may have been used for ceremonial or initiation purposes. However, this is speculative as there is little we know today about the people who made these sculptures.<ref>https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lyde/hd_lyde.htm</ref> Their existence nevertheless points to Lydenburg's remarkable heritage.

==== Lydenburg Heads ====
⚫
Dating back to AD 500, the earliest known forms of African Iron Age sculpture below the equator, known as the [[Lydenburg heads]] were found in the area. The seven earthenware sculptures of heads and other pottery from the site are intricately decorated and may have been used for ceremonial or initiation purposes. However, this is speculative as there is little we know today about the people who made these sculptures.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lyde/hd_lyde.htm | title=Lydenburg Heads (Ca. 500 A.D.) &#124; Essay &#124; the Metropolitan Museum of Art &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History }}</ref> Their existence nevertheless points to Lydenburg's remarkable heritage.


===Pre-colonial History===
===Pre-colonial History===
The Lydenburg area has a long history of human occupation. Rock paintings in surrounding areas point to early [[Khoe-San]] hunter-gather groups living on the land.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History – MAWR|url=https://www.mountanderson.com/history/|access-date=2021-09-04|language=en-US}}</ref> In addition to the Lydenburg heads, there is significant Iron Age evidence of settlement of the area possibly by the [[Bakoni]] people. There is evidence of [[Bapedi]] people living in Lydenburg as early as the 1700s. t.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mashishing (Lydenburg), Mpumalanga|url=https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/towndetframes.php?townid=260|access-date=2021-09-04|website=artefacts.co.za}}</ref>
From around the 16th century a group referred to as the [[Bakoni]] people occupied the area. There is evidence of [[Bapedi]] people, who referred to the area as Mashishing, that lived in the surrounding area from as early as the 1700s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mashishing (Lydenburg), Mpumalanga|url=https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/towndetframes.php?townid=260|access-date=2021-09-04|website=artefacts.co.za}}</ref>

⚫
===Colonial History===


==== Founding of the town Lydenburg ====
⚫
===Colonial history===
Mashishing, later renamed Lydenburg (place of suffering), was colonis ed in 1849 by a group of [[Voortrekkers]] under the leadership of [[Andries Potgieter]] when they abandoned their previous settlement [[Ohrigstad]] (to the north) due to a [[malaria]] epidemic. The city became the capital of the Lydenburg Republic ('De Republiek Lydenburg in Zuid Afrika')in 1856 and later in 1857 joined the [[Republic of Utrecht]] but in 1860 both these republics joined the [[South African Republic|Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR)]]. The city became the capital of the Lydenburg District of the [[South African Republic]] (ZAR).
Lydenburg was founded in 1849 by a group of [[Voortrekkers]] under the leadership of [[Andries Potgieter]] when they abandoned their previous settlement [[Ohrigstad]] (to the north) due to a [[malaria]] epidemic. The town became the capital of the Lydenburg Republic ('De Republiek Lydenburg in Zuid Afrika') in 1856 and later in 1857 joined the [[Republic of Utrecht]] but in 1860 both these republics joined the [[South African Republic|Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR)]]. The town became the capital of the Lydenburg District of the [[South African Republic]] (ZAR).


Lydenburg became important because it was on the wagon route to the port of Delagoa Bay (now [[Maputo Bay]]) which was free of British control. In 1871 construction of the road was started by Abraham Espag under the orders of President [[Thomas François Burgers]]. The first wagons arrived in Lydenburg from Delagoa Bay in 1874.
Lydenburg became important because it was on the wagon route to the port of Delagoa Bay (now [[Maputo Bay]]) which was not under British control. In 1871 construction of the road was started by Abraham Espag under the orders of President [[Thomas François Burgers]]. The first wagons arrived in Lydenburg from Delagoa Bay in 1874.


==== Gold Rush ====
On 6 February 1873, alluvial gold was discovered and within 3 months the Lydenburg goldfields were proclaimed. The [[First Boer War]] broke out between Britain and the Transvaal Republic in 1880. A British garrison under Lieutenant Walter Hillyar Colquhoun Long (uncle of the 1st [[Viscount Long]]) occupied Lydenburg to control the goldfields. It was from here that the ill-fated 94th Regiment under the command of [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Philip Robert Anstruther marched to [[Pretoria]]. The remainder of the garrison at Lydenburg was [[Siege of Lydenburg|besieged]] from 6 January 1881,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol052mg.html|access-date=15 December 2013|author=M. Gough Palmer|quote=The Boers took up a position two miles off on the road to Middelburg on 3 January 1881 and commenced their attack on the 6th.|title=The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881}}</ref> following Long's refusal to surrender the garrison on 23 December 1880.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol052mg.html|access-date=15 December 2013|author=M. Gough Palmer|quote=On 23 December Long was visited by Dietrich Muller who said he had been deputed by the Boer Government to demand the immediate surrender of the garrison which was refused by Long.|title=The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881}}</ref>
On 6 February 1873, alluvial gold was discovered and within 3 months the Lydenburg goldfields were proclaimed. The [[First Boer War]] broke out between Britain and the Transvaal Republic in 1880. A British garrison under Lieutenant Walter Hillyar Colquhoun Long (uncle of the 1st [[Viscount Long]]) occupied Lydenburg to control the goldfields. It was from here that the ill-fated 94th Regiment under the command of [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Philip Robert Anstruther marched to [[Pretoria]]. The remainder of the garrison at Lydenburg was [[Siege of Lydenburg|besieged]] from 6 January 1881,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol052mg.html|access-date=15 December 2013|author=M. Gough Palmer|quote=The Boers took up a position two miles off on the road to Middelburg on 3 January 1881 and commenced their attack on the 6th.|title=The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881}}</ref> following Long's refusal to surrender the garrison on 23 December 1880.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol052mg.html|access-date=15 December 2013|author=M. Gough Palmer|quote=On 23 December Long was visited by Dietrich Muller who said he had been deputed by the Boer Government to demand the immediate surrender of the garrison which was refused by Long.|title=The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881}}</ref>


Land such as Boomplaats and Aapiesdoorndraai farms, near the city, was purchased by black South Africans in the early 1900s before the [[Natives Land Act, 1913|1913 Land Act]] severely restricted black land ownership in South Africa.<ref name="sahistory.org.za">https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Removals%20and%20Resistance%20Rural%20Communities%20in%20Lydenburg%20South%20Africa%201940-1961.pdf</ref> The communities here developed and irrigated the initially arid area into valuable and productive farms.<ref name="sahistory.org.za"/>
Land such as Boomplaats and Aapiesdoorndraai farms, near the town, was purchased by black South Africans in the early 1900s before the [[Natives Land Act, 1913|1913 Land Act]] severely restricted black land ownership in South Africa.<ref name="sahistory.org.za">https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Removals%20and%20Resistance%20Rural%20Communities%20in%20Lydenburg%20South%20Africa%201940-1961.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> The communities here developed and irrigated the initially arid area into valuable and productive farms.<ref name="sahistory.org.za"/>


By 1910 the railway reached Lydenburg. In 1927 Lydenburg became a municipality.
By 1910 the railway reached Lydenburg. In 1927 Lydenburg became a municipality.
Line 87: Line 90:
===Apartheid-Era History===
===Apartheid-Era History===


Forced removals from farms surrounding Lydenburg began in the early 1940s and continued through the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schirmer|first=Stefan|date=1996|title=Removals & Resistance: Rural Communities In Lydenburg, South Africa, 1940-1961|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Removals%20and%20Resistance%20Rural%20Communities%20in%20Lydenburg%20South%20Africa%201940-1961.pdf|journal=Journal of Historical Sociology|volume=9|pages=213–242|doi=10.1111/j.1467-6443.1996.tb00184.x}}</ref> Residents on the farms, especially through the [[Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union|ICU]], [[ANC]] and local chiefs, resisted the removals in different ways depending on local circumstances and allegiances. Often violently, the apartheid state removed the families to farms further from the city or to [[Sekhukhuneland]]. In 2001, in one of South Africa's first completed land restitution claims, Boomplaats farm was bought from Willem Pretorius and returned by the state to the Dinkwanyane community.<ref>{{Cite web|title=State takes Lydenburg farm|url=https://www.news24.com/News24/State-takes-Lydenburg-farm-20010319|access-date=2021-09-04|website=News24|language=en-US}}</ref>
Forced removals from farms surrounding Lydenburg began in the early 1940s and continued through the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schirmer|first=Stefan|date=1996|title=Removals & Resistance: Rural Communities In Lydenburg, South Africa, 1940-1961|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Removals%20and%20Resistance%20Rural%20Communities%20in%20Lydenburg%20South%20Africa%201940-1961.pdf|journal=Journal of Historical Sociology|volume=9|pages=213–242|doi=10.1111/j.1467-6443.1996.tb00184.x}}</ref> Residents on the farms, especially through the [[Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union|ICU]], [[ANC]] and local chiefs, resisted the removals in different ways depending on local circumstances and allegiances. Often violently, the apartheid state removed the families to farms further from the town or to [[Sekhukhuneland]]. In 2001, in one of South Africa's first completed land restitution claims, Boomplaats farm was bought from Willem Pretorius and returned by the state to the Dinkwanyane community.<ref>{{Cite web|title=State takes Lydenburg farm|url=https://www.news24.com/News24/State-takes-Lydenburg-farm-20010319|access-date=2021-09-04|website=News24|language=en-US}}</ref>


=== Name change ===
=== Name change ===
In June 2006, it was announced that Arts and Culture minister, [[Pallo Jordan]], had approved the name change of Lydenburg back to its original name Mashishing (meaning "long, green grass").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Lydenburg-takes-on-new-name-20060906|title=Lydenburg takes on new name}}</ref> However, the decision was appealed to court which ruled the change illegal and ordered the name to be changed back to Lydenburg. However, the township outside Lydenburg remains Mashishing. Road signs still say Lydenburg and businesses and local buildings such as the [[Lydenburg Museum]] have kept the old name. However, some road signs say Mashishing towards the more developed part of the city.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
In June 2006, it was announced that Arts and Culture minister, [[Pallo Jordan]], had approved the renaming Lydenburg to Mashishing, meaning "long green grass".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Lydenburg-takes-on-new-name-20060906|title=Lydenburg takes on new name}}</ref>


[[File:A street in Lydenburg.JPG|thumbnail|left|A side street in Lydenburg]]
[[File:A street in Lydenburg.JPG|thumbnail|left|A side street in Lydenburg]]
Line 101: Line 104:
* Mashishing Secondary School
* Mashishing Secondary School
* [https://www.ehlanzenicollege.co.za/campuses/mashishing/ Mashishing Campus Ehlanzeni TVET College]
* [https://www.ehlanzenicollege.co.za/campuses/mashishing/ Mashishing Campus Ehlanzeni TVET College]
* Lesodi primary school, Mashingshing.<ref>{{citation |url=https://schooldirect.org/south-africa/lesodi-primary-school-fees-registration-contact/ |title=Lesodi Primary School |work=School Direct|date=17 May 2021 }}</ref>


==Tourist attractions==
==Tourist attractions==
Line 128: Line 132:
[[Category:Populated places established in 1849]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1849]]
[[Category:1849 establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:1849 establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:Former republics]]

Latest revision as of 03:32, 24 April 2024

Lydenburg
Mashishing
Dutch Reformed Church, Lydenburg
Dutch Reformed Church, Lydenburg
Lydenburg is located in Mpumalanga
Lydenburg
Lydenburg
Lydenburg is located in South Africa
Lydenburg
Lydenburg
Lydenburg is located in Africa
Lydenburg
Lydenburg
Coordinates: 25°05′46″S 30°26′46″E / 25.096°S 30.446°E / -25.096; 30.446
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceMpumalanga
DistrictEhlanzeni
MunicipalityThaba Chweu
Area
[1]
 • Total17.31 km2 (6.68 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total37,258
 • Density2,200/km2 (5,600/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 • Black African75.3%
 • Coloured1.4%
 • Indian/Asian0.5%
 • White22.5%
 • Other0.3%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 • Northern Sotho26.2%
 • Afrikaans22.8%
 • Swazi18.7%
 • Zulu13.1%
 • Other19.2%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
1120
PO box
1120
Area code013
Historical states
in present-day
South Africa
before 1600
1600–1700
1700–1800
1800–1850
1850–1875
1875–1900
1900–present
flag South Africa portal

Lydenburg, also known as Mashishing,[2][3] is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. It has a long, rich history, ranging from AD 500 to the present. The name is derived from the Dutch Lijdenburg, or "Town of Suffering", and is named for the experiences of the white settlers.[2][4] In Northern Sotho, Mashishing means "long green grass."[5] Lydenburg has become the centre of the South African fly-fishing industry and is an agricultural, tourism and mining hub.

History[edit]

Ancient history[edit]

The area surrounding present day Lydenburg has a long history of human occupation. Rock paintings in surrounding areas point to early Khoe-San hunter-gather groups living on the land.[6]

Lydenburg Heads[edit]

Dating back to AD 500, the earliest known forms of African Iron Age sculpture below the equator, known as the Lydenburg heads were found in the area. The seven earthenware sculptures of heads and other pottery from the site are intricately decorated and may have been used for ceremonial or initiation purposes. However, this is speculative as there is little we know today about the people who made these sculptures.[7] Their existence nevertheless points to Lydenburg's remarkable heritage.

Pre-colonial History[edit]

From around the 16th century a group referred to as the Bakoni people occupied the area. There is evidence of Bapedi people, who referred to the area as Mashishing, that lived in the surrounding area from as early as the 1700s.[8]

Colonial History[edit]

Founding of the town Lydenburg[edit]

Lydenburg was founded in 1849 by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter when they abandoned their previous settlement Ohrigstad (to the north) due to a malaria epidemic. The town became the capital of the Lydenburg Republic ('De Republiek Lydenburg in Zuid Afrika') in 1856 and later in 1857 joined the Republic of Utrecht but in 1860 both these republics joined the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR). The town became the capital of the Lydenburg District of the South African Republic (ZAR).

Lydenburg became important because it was on the wagon route to the port of Delagoa Bay (now Maputo Bay) which was not under British control. In 1871 construction of the road was started by Abraham Espag under the orders of President Thomas François Burgers. The first wagons arrived in Lydenburg from Delagoa Bay in 1874.

Gold Rush[edit]

On 6 February 1873, alluvial gold was discovered and within 3 months the Lydenburg goldfields were proclaimed. The First Boer War broke out between Britain and the Transvaal Republic in 1880. A British garrison under Lieutenant Walter Hillyar Colquhoun Long (uncle of the 1st Viscount Long) occupied Lydenburg to control the goldfields. It was from here that the ill-fated 94th Regiment under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Robert Anstruther marched to Pretoria. The remainder of the garrison at Lydenburg was besieged from 6 January 1881,[9] following Long's refusal to surrender the garrison on 23 December 1880.[10]

Land such as Boomplaats and Aapiesdoorndraai farms, near the town, was purchased by black South Africans in the early 1900s before the 1913 Land Act severely restricted black land ownership in South Africa.[11] The communities here developed and irrigated the initially arid area into valuable and productive farms.[11]

By 1910 the railway reached Lydenburg. In 1927 Lydenburg became a municipality.

Apartheid-Era History[edit]

Forced removals from farms surrounding Lydenburg began in the early 1940s and continued through the 1960s.[12] Residents on the farms, especially through the ICU, ANC and local chiefs, resisted the removals in different ways depending on local circumstances and allegiances. Often violently, the apartheid state removed the families to farms further from the town or to Sekhukhuneland. In 2001, in one of South Africa's first completed land restitution claims, Boomplaats farm was bought from Willem Pretorius and returned by the state to the Dinkwanyane community.[13]

Name change[edit]

In June 2006, it was announced that Arts and Culture minister, Pallo Jordan, had approved the renaming Lydenburg to Mashishing, meaning "long green grass".[2][3]

A side street in Lydenburg

Education[edit]

Tourist attractions[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Sub Place Lydenburg". Census 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Carroll, Rory (27 July 2006). "Whites protest at African name changes". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Lydenburg takes on new name".
  4. ^ "South Africa". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Old South Africa collides with new in city names - The Mail & Guardian". 9 August 2011.
  6. ^ "History – MAWR". Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Lydenburg Heads (Ca. 500 A.D.) | Essay | the Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History".
  8. ^ "Mashishing (Lydenburg), Mpumalanga". artefacts.co.za. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  9. ^ M. Gough Palmer. "The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881". Retrieved 15 December 2013. The Boers took up a position two miles off on the road to Middelburg on 3 January 1881 and commenced their attack on the 6th.
  10. ^ M. Gough Palmer. "The Besieged Towns of the First Boer War, 1880-1881". Retrieved 15 December 2013. On 23 December Long was visited by Dietrich Muller who said he had been deputed by the Boer Government to demand the immediate surrender of the garrison which was refused by Long.
  11. ^ a b https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Removals%20and%20Resistance%20Rural%20Communities%20in%20Lydenburg%20South%20Africa%201940-1961.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ Schirmer, Stefan (1996). "Removals & Resistance: Rural Communities In Lydenburg, South Africa, 1940-1961" (PDF). Journal of Historical Sociology. 9: 213–242. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6443.1996.tb00184.x.
  13. ^ "State takes Lydenburg farm". News24. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Lesodi Primary School", School Direct, 17 May 2021
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